Compost tea as catalyser for the compost pile.

Compost tea as catalyser for the compost pile.

Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:52 am

Hi folks,

I couldn't find anything on this subject, still it seems logic to me. Why use compost tea on soil or plants only? What is it we want in a hot compost pile? We want a lot of thermophilic bacteria fast, so higher temperature, so faster composting, right?

When building a compost pile we tend to apply the lasagne technique, watering every layer as we go. Why not water every layer with compost tea, giving the bacteria growth a head start?

Some questions are simple. This one, I had to think a bit.
Then it occurred to me that maybe you are talking about inoculating a NEW pile with compost tea made from the old pile?

I guess I would agree that this may help to jump start a new pile. I'm not sure that doing this with the existing pile make much sense since you are turning the pile which will distribute tha microbes anyway, and they will multiply on their own....

I think if I were to do this to inoculate the fresh layers of a new pile, I would use Actively Aerated Compost Tea (AACT).

Sounds like you are talking about batch composting where you build a new pile all at once, with a whole bunch of ingredients you have on hand. I agree that at that point a bit of AACT might help jump start the process.

I do add as you go composting, just throw materials on the pile as they come along. I may throw a handful of garden dirt in here and there to be sure it is inoculated with soil organisms, and lots of the pulled weeds come with bits of soil attached. I don't use any compost starter/ activator. Admittedly my compost pile done this way and not turned very much, without any manures or really high N ingredients like that, doesn't usually heat up a whole lot - gets a bit warm, but not hot, except when I put in duckweed from the pond, which is a high N ingredient. It composts anyway, so I haven't really cared. And the question is, given that there's plenty of microbes in the pile already, does adding more really make a difference?

But since I'm feeling experimental these days, once it warms up, maybe I will throw a bucket of AACT on the pile and see if I can tell the difference.